The Mass Tort Muser Ponders Yaz Lawsuits

October 26th, 2010. By Mass Tort Muser

Yaz (and its sib, Yasmin) has been under fire over the past couple of years. Hell hath no fury, right? And there are definitely some women out there feeling a bit scorned by big pharma on this one…

But talk about the pendulum swinging back in the opposite direction. It wasn’t all that long ago that we (women, that is) were ecstatic that finally, yes finally, there was a mere pill—such a teeny tiny helper!—that could save us from unwanted pregnancy and that God-forsaken monthly interruption—cramps and all. (Insert a “Right-on!” shout-out to Ms. Steinem, women’s lib and a few burnt bras…).

Fast-forward almost forty years…and the pill delivers zit relief, too—our cup runneth over! Breakout banisher is basically how Yaz positioned itself on center stage of the contraception market—and how it netted not only a whole new generation of pretty young things as groupies but also a wrist-slap from the FDA. Seems telling women about how clear their skin would be without telling them about potential little side effects like deep vein thrombosis or perhaps the need for gallbladder surgery wasn’t such a slick marketing move. At least they didn’t try to get shelf space next to Clearasil.

But you know all that. And here’s where the musing and pondering kick in…

Given what’s been going on with Yaz, you may be wondering why on earth there isn’t some big brouhaha going on—you know, one of those class actions. It seems whenever there’s a product—be it a lawnmower, Expedia.com’s hotel reservations, or Similac baby formula—that doesn’t do what it says it will do or causes undo harm, there’s a class action. So, what’s up with Yaz? Where the heck is my “opt in” claim form? Was I not invited?!?

Let’s look at how some of the details rack up: indeed, lots of women allege to have been harmed by Yaz—enough perhaps to even be considered a “class” or at least a sizeable cocktail party. And possible Yaz side effects are numerous—and not just your run of the mill “honey I’ve got a headache gonna lie down” type. No, these are biggies: gallbladder problems, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, heart attack, stroke… Keep in mind, too, the women getting Yaz prescriptions filled are, obviously, within child-bearing age, so they’re younger—not the typical age-range for heart attack or stroke, for example.

So why not a Yaz class action? Why not a little “you may be part of a Yaz lawsuit” postcard in the mailbox or a full-page ad of legalese in People magazine? The answer is because the Yaz lawsuits are actually a mass tort.

The easy way to think of mass tort vs. class action is in how the plaintiff is viewed. A mass tort looks at each plaintiff individually; not so a class action. With a class action, the plaintiffs as a group are looked at as one plaintiff. Kind of a we’re-in-this-together thing. And when it comes time to decide what basis a lawsuit will be tried upon, the plaintiffs’ attorneys have to weigh all factors and recommend the basis—mass tort or class action—that might get the plaintiffs the best outcome.

With Yaz, if it were a class action, it would treat all the alleged Yaz victims as one (grouped) plaintiff—and those plaintiffs would each receive equal damages once the case had been decided. But that’s not really ideal with a case like Yaz.

Why? Because each of the alleged Yaz victims has experienced very different injuries. The majority of mass tort cases have been consolidated in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and according to the Case Management Order issued by Chief Judge David R. Herndon of the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois (Judge Herndon is presiding over the consolidated federal Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella litigation), the plaintiffs injuries have a breakdown that looks roughly like this: 43% had gallbladder injury; 40-41% either deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism injury; and the remaining 9-10% were heart attack or stroke victims.

So the plaintiffs have very different injuries that they’re dealing with, and each should be assessed on its own merit, so to speak, rather than being lumped together into one “class” where everyone would basically be treated the same. That’s why the Yaz cases are a mass tort and not a class action.

By the way, the Yaz mass tort lawsuits have been consolidated into an MDL (Mult-District Litigation)—prior to the Case Management Order, alleged Yaz victims had to file first in their own states, and then their cases were transferred to the MDL. Now, Yaz plaintiffs can file a lawsuit directly into the MDL.

Baffled and befuddled by the whole mess? That’s why there’s Yaz lawyers who figure it all out and spend their days breathing, eating, and you-know-whatting Yaz litigation. But they know their stuff—so if you think you’ve got a Yaz case you’d like a lawyer to review, you can fill out the form here. NB: it’s easier than filling in one of those “opt in” forms.

And on that note, I think it’s time to tune into some CSN and get myself back to the garden…

Tags: Mass Tort, Ocella, Yasmin, Yaz, Yaz lawsuit

This was posted on Tuesday, October 26th, 2010 at 12:42 pm and is filed under Defective Products, Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues, Personal Injury . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.